Updated: November 26, 2020 6:59:28 am
Waheed Parra arrested in the case of naming the former DySP, Hizb
Three days after he submitted his nomination from the Pulwama district in Kashmir for the District Development Council (DDC) SurveysThe National Investigative Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested PDP youth wing leader Waheed ur Rehman Parra in connection with a terrorism case against suspended J&K police officer Devinder Singh.
“Today, the NIA arrested Waheed ur Rehman Parra … in connection with the Naveed Babu / Devinder Singh case for supporting Hizbul Mujahideen in conspiracy with the other defendants,” said an NIA statement.
Devinder Singh, then DySP with J&K Police, had been arrested on January 11 while riding in a car with Naveed Babu, a known Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorist. The case was transferred to the NIA, which alleged on its charge sheet that Singh had been providing shelter the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists for a long time and had been aiding and inciting their activities at the behest of Pakistan.
“We discovered that Parra was in contact with some of the key defendants in the case. We have evidence to show that he was aware of the conspiracy and may even have been actively involved in it, ”said an NIA official.
The agency had previously called him in Delhi to question him about the case.
Before leaving for Delhi on Monday, Para told The Indian Express: “Political engagement has started and elections have been announced. I have been actively participating on the ground and helping the party to bring in suitable candidates for these elections. And today they sent me a notice asking me to go to Delhi for questioning … The motivation for this is political.
Calling the accusations against Parra “unfounded,” the PDP tried to make a connection between his arrest and the DDC polls at J&K.
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PDP’s @Parawahid, then applauded by HM @rajnathsingh for strengthening democracy at J&K, was arrested today on unfounded charges by the NIA. It is no coincidence that he submitted his nomination for DDC on November 20 and received the subpoena from the NIA the next day, ”tweeted former PDP Prime Minister and Chairman Mehbooba Mufti.
“BJP milks the illegal scrapping of article 370 in every corner of the country. But when Kashmiris question its repeal, they are locked up and punished. Everyone knows who Devinder Singh worked for. It is ironic that they have the nerve to blame others. Waheed has no connection to this man and is being falsely accused. All just to blackmail and intimidate the PDP and other dominant political parties in J&K.
PDP sources say Parra’s arrest is a personal setback for Mufti. The 32-year-old was among her closest advisers and was considered the PDP manager on the ground. Parra, who drew a crowd, stayed in contact with party workers even when Mehbooba was in custody.
The Parras and the Muftis go back a long way, with Parra’s grandfather, Abdul Rehman Parra, a close associate of the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Party insiders often attribute the PDP’s success in southern Kashmir, especially in the Pulwama district, to Parra’s ability to micromanage on the ground.
In 2016, during Parra’s tenure as secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Special Council, then-Union Interior Minister Rajnath Singh had praised him for his “uplifting sports” in Kashmir.
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On August 5 of last year, when the Center repealed J & K’s special status, Waheed was arrested along with Mufti and some other senior leaders. He was released in February this year after spending six months in jail.
With contributions from Naveed Iqbal
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